Good Reads & Views

Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self by Manoush Zomorodi
Nonfiction

What it’s about: While we used to have windows of time to simply notice the world around us, now most of us reach for our phones when things get boring. In this helpful and encouraging book, Zomorodi describes what we’re missing by logging on instead of occasionally zoning out.

Why you should read it: If your smartphone is connected to your person all your waking hours and you’re not totally happy about that situation, this book provides concrete exercises that will help you keep only the apps and uses that are best serving you. The author’s conversational tone and account of her personal experiences make this challenge friendly and approachable.

You might also like: If your goal is to reduce your social media use, also check out Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.

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Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind by David Linden
Nonfiction

What is it? I think I highlighted half of this book. Touch is such a vital part of our lives, yet it's astonishing how little we’re aware of it. The great news is that the science of touch has been growing in recent years. Linden does a brilliant job of communicating his findings in a comprehensive and engaging manner.

Key insight: While humans can be said to be primarily visual in interacting with the world, in part from his research as a neuroscientist, Linden makes a persuasive case that touch is much more fundamental to our emotional well-being and way of relating to the world.

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About Grief: Insights, Setbacks, Grace Notes, Taboos by Ron Marasco
Nonfiction

What it’s about: This is a book about grief for everyone. It has down-to-earth, easy to understand explanations of what grief feels like, how it can manifest itself and suggestions of how to walk through the grief. There is also a description of gender differences and how the grieving process is acknowledging and free of judgment.

Key insight: The authors have accomplished going beyond the details of social etiquette to the core of our shared human experience and emotions after the death of a loved one. I found the book all-inclusive, pulling from multiple sources of information, clearly written, well organized, and very warm hearted.>

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Life's Healing Choices by John Baker
Nonfiction

This is a powerful book, written by John Baker, the founder of Celebrate Recovery, a Christ centered 12 Step program based on biblical principles. The perception of Celebrate Recovery and this book may seem to be more directed at substance abuse issues such as drugs and alcohol but that’s so NOT TRUE. Everyone has some form of hurts, habits or hang-ups that they need help identifying. This book helps you do that in such a way that while you are identifying your flaws and character defects, you still feel encouraged and know that there is hope and freedom. I HIGHLY recommend reading this book and finding a Celebrate Recovery in your area!

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What Nurses Know…PTSD: The Answers You Need from the People You Trust by Mary E. Muscari, PhD, RN
Nonfiction

This book provides an abundance of information in a useful, non-clinical way. PTSD can be caused by many experiences and manifest in many different ways. It explains how the disorder is diagnosed and describes the symptoms --- both physical and psychological. It also covers the various disorders that can accompany and worsen PTSD: things like depression, substance abuse, and generalized anxiety disorder. Muscari provides complete explanations of both traditional and alternative treatments for the disorder. Personally speaking, the greatest message this book has to offer is hope. As Muscari says in the first chapter, "... you are not crazy ... you are not weak ... and you are not alone." What Nurses Know ... PTSD provides consolation, hope, and help for those struggling with what feels like at times, an incapacitating condition.

The Trauma Tool Kit: Healing PTSD from the Inside Out by Susan Pease Banitt, LCSW
Nonfiction
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I was recently diagnosed with Complex PTSD and was desperate to learn as much as I possibly could about what that meant. I’m SO grateful that the library owns this book! I started to read it and quickly realized that I wanted to underline more than half of it so I had to purchase a copy for myself. There is no one easy way to coping with and overcoming PTSD. I love this book because it provides an entire toolbox of tools for working through post-traumatic stress. Just as every trauma is different and every person's reaction to trauma is personal, treating and overcoming that trauma must be personalized. This book provides an array of ways to finding your way back to sanity after a significant traumatic experience.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Nonfiction

Considering the title, it is somewhat ironic that this book has created quite a buzz. Written by a confessed introvert who used to work in a decidedly extrovert environment, the reader gets a thoughtful examination of the often second-class status that introverts hold in these not-so-quiet times of take-charge extroverts. Combining the life stories of real people with past and current research, the author makes the point that introverts have been greatly undervalued, to the detriment of society as a whole. She suggests that the over-exuberance of the last decade - driven by extroverts and their often short-sighted thinking and over-emphasis on teamwork – might have had something to do with the near-collapse of our economy in 2008. Introverts, who shun the spotlight and have a tendency to listen, ask questions, and think before they speak, might have made different decisions. An affirming ego boost to all introverts and a mighty good read for those extroverts who know introverts and would like to understand them more.